Apr 14, 2011

Calling all Parents with children with Food Allergies

A few days ago I was contacted by my older sister. She told me she had a friend who had a son with an illness that left him with a very limited diet. I contacted Gladys to ask her what  exactly her sons condition was. I was in for a surprise. She told me that her son was diagnosed at 18 moths with Eosinophilic Esophagitis and Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis. I have ran across this disorder in my mass research on food allergies but never looked more in depth into it until now. It is a disorder ( like food allergies) but its when the body rejects food like it would the flu. Eosinophils are a type of white blood cells that triple in numbers when they think something foreign inters the body ( for him its food). Eosinophilic Esophagitis is the high number of Eosinophils in the esophagus. Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis effects the stomach and small intestine. 


The symptoms include:

  •  Nausea or Vomiting
  •  Diarrhea 
  •  Failure to thrive (poor growth or weight loss)
  •  Abdominal or chest pain 
  •  Reflux that does not respond to usual therapy (which includes proton pump inhibitors, a medicine which stops acid production)
  •  Dysphagia (Difficulty swallowing)
  •  Food impactions (food gets stuck in the throat)
  •  Gastroparesis (Delayed emptying of the stomach)
  •  Anorexia (poor appetite)
  •  Bloating
  •  Anemia
  •  Blood in the stool
  •  Malnutrition
  •  Difficulty sleeping
There is no cure for EE or EG, but treatment can help alleviate symptoms and help prevent more damage to the gastrointestinal tract. Her son is going through dietary therapy. Its a testing of food allergies as a guide for an elimination diet. An elimination diet is avoiding the foods that test positive on allergy testing. He is on an amino acid formula called Elecare. It is protein based that has absolutely NO allergens. Along with that her son who's name is Daniel by the way can now have pork, potatoes, apples, corn, broccoli, cod or tuna and bananas with the exception of a few more I haven't been updated on. She can only cook with 100% corn, vegetable or olive oil and season with honey, salt, pepper, pure maple syrup and Fleishman's margarine. She is a dedicated mother and is giving it her all and I think she is doing a damn good job. So I'm reaching out to everyone and anyone who has information on EE and EG. For more information on EE and EG click here
   
      Thanks, 
          Danny Brown.

2 comments:

Libby said...

That's a tough one. Is she looking for recipe ideas? Can she use corn meal?

Btw, chicken can be really good cooked with apples.

Mr. Brown said...

Yes she is looking for recipes to more normalize her sons eating. So i have been thinking of what i can do with what I was given and I will ask her about cornmeal. If so that would give a larger range of things that could be made.

And I will keep the chicken with apples in mind. Thanks :)